The deal was confirmed to German news agency DPA by diplomatic sources after talks on Tuesday among the bloc's European affairs ministers. Some member states expressed concerns about corruption and the rule of law in the two EU hopefuls.
Others have pushed to bring the six Western Balkan countries into the EU fold to bolster the bloc’s influence in the region. Germany's European affairs minister, Michael Roth, said that Albania and Macedonia have made "remarkable progress in the area of rule of law and the independence of the judiciary."